Rally Deutschland overnight leader Sebastien Loeb maintained his dominant pace on Saturday’s opener, setting the fastest time through SS7 with team-mate Dani Sordo his closest challenger.
Heading to stage eight, Loeb’s overall lead over Sordo was exactly 10 seconds.
In continued dry and sunny conditions, all WRC drivers selected soft compound Pirelli PZero tyres with one spare for the opening three stages. Petter Solberg elected to run the same soft compound tyres he ran during shakedown.
Many drivers admitted to an overly cautious approach through the three gravel sections on the 11km stage - especially the final two kilometres.